Evangelicals and the Law

“Evangelicals and the Law” is the title of a book review in The New Republic by Noah Feldman of a book by Jay Alan Sekulow entitled “Witnessing Their Faith: Religious Influence on Supreme Court Justices and Their Opinions.”

Sekulow’s book apparently makes the claim that the religious beliefs of the Justices has been the primary factor driving court decisions and that this is the way it should be. Feldman criticizes the inaccuracy of the historical argument and expresses his dismay at the opinion that religious belief, rather than the Constitution, should be the paramount factor in determining Supreme Court cases.

I also detected a bit of surprise, on Feldman’s part, that someone like Sekulow, an influential Constitutional lawyer that regularly appears before the High Court, among others, can hold such an opinion.

I’m not surprised and I’m glad to see that slowly, but hopefully surely, it is beginning to dawn on people that Conservative Evangelical Christianity represents a very real threat to American Democracy.

Why be concerned about Sekulow when Tom DeLay holds the same opinion? In a May, 2001 article in the Washington Post DeLay was described as having as his agenda “building a more God-centered nation whose government will promote prayer and worship and the teaching of values” and was quoted as saying he wants to “bring us back to the Constitution and to Absolute Truth that has been manipulated and destroyed by a liberal worldview."

This is the man that taught an adult school class based upon Charles Colson’s, “How Now Shall We Live?” which asserts that only Christianity can truly explain the human condition and reform America's government and culture. DeLay is also the witless one that blamed Columbine on the teaching of Evolution! Remember that phrase "Absolute Truth." It becomes important a paragraph or two further on.

Feldman makes the observation that “It is today not impossible to hear the argument that God's law ought to be implemented directly in the United States,” points out that the Chalcedon Foundation advocates the adoption of biblical law by the state after Americans have converted to Christianity and quotes Kevin Clauson, president of Christ College as saying “We cannot trust man (individually or collectively); we must trust God and His immutable law. If civil magistrates will not apply the Old Testament law, then what will they apply? The law of man. If we will not be ruled by God, we will be ruled by tyrants."

What Clauson misses is that what he calls the “immutable law” of God is really simply what men have decided should be the law of God. Clauson would have us exchange a potential tyranny by politicians for a guaranteed tyranny by priests. I’ll take my chances with the former as at least most politicians (DeLay and Dubyah excepted) don’t think they’re doing God’s will.

Now while a lot (most?) Evangelical Christians understand that you shouldn’t try to impose your personal beliefs upon society, a lot (most?) don’t. The U.S. was envisioned by the founders as a secular society. Unfortunately too many in the U.S. have lost that vision, believe that the government is based upon “Christian Principles” (which it isn’t) and would like nothing better than to impose what they view as “God’s Law” upon society.

Here’s the basic problem. According to a Barna Group study in 2002, 70% of Evangelicals believe in “Absolute Truth.” They equate "Absolute Truth" to their religious beliefs which are based upon their interpretation of the Bible which they hold to be the"Word of God."

Whew! There are lots of assumptions there starting with the assumption that the Bible is anything more than a collection of myths and legends with a little historical framework thrown in and ending with the assumption that their interpretation of the Bible is the correct one.

In comparison, only 25% of non-Evangelical Christians, 27% of Agnostics & Atheists and 16% of non-Christians believe in “Absolute Truth.”

When you’re convinced that you’re on the side of the angels and are implementing God’s will, it’s a little tough NOT to want to impose what you know absolutely to be true on everyone else. People like Delay, Colsen, Clauson and the Chalcedon Foundation only have our best interests at heart (*cough, cough*).

What these folks are missing, or don’t care about, is that the “Absolute Truth” they believe in ain’t necessarily so. Even other Christians can’t agree on the definitions so what chance have they got of convincing anyone else? They don’t have any chance. The only way they can accomplish their objective is through force; through the imposition of their “Absolute Truths” on all the rest of us whether we like it or not and, as a necessary corollary, the suppression of anyone else’s “truth.”

If you don’t consider this a threat to American Democracy and the principles of the Constitution, then I’d like to know why not?